


Assumption

by PaintedVanilla (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Parenting, Birthday, Birthday Presents, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Middle School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 23:05:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13064046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: “When are we going to dinner?”





	Assumption

When Dolley arrives at school on her thirteenth birthday, her locker has been decorated, and she almost cries. Locker decorating is somewhat of a tradition at her middle school, but she’s never had it done to her. Now, her locker is covered in wrapping paper and plastic bows, and when she opens it there are streamers hanging from the top and a present sitting next to her English textbook. Dolley quickly shoves her backpack away and pulls the card out of the present, reading the very long note from Martha. Before she can finish and open her present, though, the bell rings and Dolley is officially late for class. She grabs her binder and slams her locker shut and walks to first period as fast as she can because she doesn’t want to get yelled at.

She sees Martha for the first time at lunch, and she brings her present with her to the cafeteria so she can finally open it. Martha is waiting for her with two cupcakes and she almost screams when she sees Dolley, which embarasses her very much. When she sits down next to her Martha engulfs her in a hug and squeals, and says happy birthday a million times which prompts a lot of kids around them to turn and look and passively wish Dolley a happy birthday, too.

Dolley says thank you a million times and finally pries Martha off of her. They eat the cupcakes together and Dolley opens her present (it’s a bag of candy). Dolley says thank you a million more times and they eat their lunch and then Dolley lets herself have exactly one piece of candy, because she wants to save the bag.

“Do you want to spend the night at my house Friday night?” Martha asks.

“I can’t.” Dolley says, “I have to make dinner, and tonight we’re going to go out for my birthday, so I only get one pass on making dinner a week.”

When Dolley gets home she does her homework as always and then she goes to her room and eats another piece of candy and hides the bag so her parents won’t find it. Then she lays on her bed and waits for them to come home.

She hears them both come in and she puts her nice shoes on and lays halfway on her bed so she doesn’t get her shoes on the sheets. She’s waiting for them to call her when they’re ready to leave for dinner. Dolley isn’t particularly excited about going out, because she always picks the same place to go to and she always gets the same meal - she buys a house salad _every time_ they go out to dinner now, because it’s always the cheapest thing on the menu - but she is excited about not having to cook dinner.

Dolley waits for one hour, but then she starts to worry they might have already called her and she didn’t hear and they’ve been waiting on her. She gets up out of her room and finds her parents sitting on the couch talking to each other in Mandarin; they stop as soon as Dolley steps in the room and they stare at her.

Dolley clears her throat, “When are we going to dinner?”

Her parents both give her disapproving looks, then her mom says, “We’re not going to dinner.”

“What?” Dolley asks, “Why not? What did I do?”

“I think you know what you did.” her dad says, and Dolley thinks about every single thing she’s done in the past two months.

“I can’t think of anything.” She says after a moment, and both her parents look exasperated.

“I seem to recall an incident with a certain stuffed animal.” Her mom prompts.

Dolley pauses, “Mr. Beebee?” she asks.

Mr. Beebee was Dolley’s favorite stuffed animal from the time she was two. It was a stuffed bumblebee that she needed to sleep at night, and when she was at school during the day he would sit on her bed with her pillow. When Dolley turned twelve, her parents decided she was too old for stuffed animals, among other toys, and got rid of her remaining ones while she was at school. When they had come home from dinner and Dolley realized he was gone, she was so mad she threw a fit for almost four hours straight. It didn’t do anything but make her parents mad, and she didn’t get Mr. Beebee back, but she had at least made an attempt. She had thought maybe if she screamed long enough, something she hadn’t done since she was a baby, her parents would give in and give him back. But they had already dropped him off wherever he was being donated at, so all Dolley got was a lot of privileges revoked and many weeks where she couldn’t sleep at night.

Dolley continues, “That happened, like, a year ago.”

“And you threw a fit for four hours,” her mom reminds her, “like some sort of spoiled brat.”

Dolley winces, “But you already - ”

“Are you telling us after throwing a fit for four hours, you think you _deserve_ to go out to dinner?” Her dad asks, “Do you think you’re entitled to it? Do you think we’re required to take you? Are you mad that everything isn’t about you for ten seconds?”

Dolley stares at her shoes and thinks about how she put them on right when her parents got home because she assumed they were going to dinner. She swallows thickly, then says, “No.”

“Good.” Her dad sits back onto the couch a little bit, “Not everything is about you, Dolley.”

“I know.” Dolley says, “Do I have to make dinner?”

“Well, I don’t know.” her mom says, “Who’s job _is it_ to make dinner?”

“It’s mine.” Dolley says, taking her shoes off when she passes the door. Her parents resume whatever conversation they were having and Dolley tries to figure out what to make for dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> [this](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/97/67/119767b3e0a912e16aad614c447995cc.jpg) is what Mr. Beebee looked like


End file.
